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ôIÆve been in conference with Diedrich and the PR people all morning, and they seem to think that the best way is to be honest. Simply tell the truth and get it over with.ö

ôI can imagine thatÆs going to be a tough pill to swallow.ö

ôYeah, well, it canÆt be helped. LetÆs just hope people will understand. Ah, here she is.ö

While Chase and Odelia interviewed the person in charge of the mailroom, and tried to track down how exactly the package had arrived, when it had arrived, and which route it had traveled to finally arrive on Cotton KaratÆs desk, Dooley and I wandered off and inspected a potted plant nearby. I wonÆt conceal that I was starting to get a little peckish. WeÆd been on the go all morning, without so much as a bathroom break, and frankly IÆd hoped that these Karat people would have something edible in store for us.

Unfortunately they did not condone pets in the office, and therefore had no pet food to dispense either.

ôIÆm still wondering how Eric Blandine died,ö said Dooley as we hopped up onto a nice blue sofa and settled in for the duration. If we couldnÆt eat, at least we could nap.

ôWhat do you mean? He was stabbed and his liver was removed, Dooley. The human body canÆt survive a harsh treatment like that.ö

ôItÆs a liver, Max. CanÆt people survive without a liver?ö

ôNo, they canÆt.ö

ôBut itÆs not a heart, or a pair of lungs. Now if his heart had been removed, or his lungs, I could understand, but a liver? I didnÆt even know humans had livers until this morning.ö

ôWhat do you mean? Of course humans have livers. Just like we have livers.ö

ôAre you sure?ö

ôOf course!ö

ôBut why?ö

ôWhat do you mean, why?ö

ôI mean, what does it do? Why do we need it?ö

ôThe liver helps with digestion, eliminates toxins, synthesizes proteins and hormones. ItÆs a very, very important organ.ö

ôI still think he could have survived a couple of hours without it. Which means he was probably poisoned. And we all know that poison is the murder weapon of choice for the female killer. Which means that Lita Fiol is the person weÆre looking for, Max.ö

ôBut she couldnÆt have done it, Dooley. She was with her boyfriend Tobias.ö

ôSo they did it together. Tobias was lured over to the dark side of duck activism, and so they both decided that Cotton had to die since he was in the duck-harming business.ö

ôTobias knew that Eric Blandine was replacing Cotton Karat. So why kill him?ö

ôTo send a message, of course! DonÆt mess with the ducks! Of course Tobias didnÆt want to kill the real Cotton Karat, since that would mean his stock options would drop in value and also heÆd be out of a job. But this Eric Blandine? No problem. So they decided to sacrifice the poor man as avictim of the cause.ö

ôOh, Dooley,ö I sighed. Looked like my friend didnÆt have all his ducks in a row.

Chapter 14

Before continuing their investigation, Odelia and Chase decided to take stock for a moment, and dropped by OdeliaÆs office. It allowed Dooley and myself to finally enjoy half a bowl of kibble, and a visit to the litter box Odelia has installed in her office. And not a moment too soon, either, for IÆd been wondering how much longer I could tell my bladder to behave!

It transpired that the package that arrived at the Karat Group offices had been hand-delivered sometime during the night or early morning. After a thorough reconstruction had been carried out, it was determined that the package had been found in the Karat Group mailbox by Laurence Grifka, the person in charge of the mailroom, who had personally placed it on a trolley destined for the upper floor.

She remembered so distinctly since it was the only package in the mailbox, since it was already there before the post arrived. Also, it had been tied up with string and looked like something either a child or the Unabomber had dreamed up.

Once the actual post had arrived, and had been sorted, the trolley had started its ascent through the company, until it had finally arrived on the top floor, where Cotton KaratÆs personal secretary Opal Saryusz had taken reception of the package along with the rest of CottonÆs mail, and had placed it on her bossÆs desk. Opal was one of the few people who knew that Cotton wasnÆt actually Cotton, since she knew the real man too well to be so easily deceived.

The last link in the chain had been Tobias, who had opened the package and made the gruesome discovery.

Which meant that we still had no idea who had delivered the package, since there were no CCTV cameras covering the mailbox, and the cameras that covered the parking lot hadnÆt picked up any strange activity last night or in the early part of the morning.

ôOdd that Tobias and the woman who runs the duck group would be dating,ö said Odelia as she tucked into a cheese sandwich Chase had picked up from the deli around the corner. He himself had procured a ham sandwich, defying potential abuse from Gran and Scarlett.